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The October Conversation
Author :
Noray,
in Chinese
Date :
30 October 2001
Translation :
Martial Arts Movies and TV Series - Wu Jing
Original
Compilation : Jing Wu
Men
Barriers to Wu Jing's Forthcoming Visit
I was pleasantly surprised to receive a call from Wu Jing on Tuesday as it has
been quite some time since I last talked to him. I was also curious about the
progress of The Empire is of More Importance. He had just finished the day's
work and the team has already moved on to Suzhou. He never had a day's rest
since shooting of the series began in 4th Oct. His workload is particularly heavy
as he is playing two roles. I had intended to ask him more about the series when
Wu Jing digressed that the production company of Metamorphosis of Heavenly
Silkworm wanted him to go to Taiwan to do some promotion.
I almost couldn't believe what I heard. Then, Wu Jing's handphone's batteries
were going flat and he told me he would call me later.
I waited for nearly two hours, and in between, I talked to Ninnie on the phone,
relating to her this important news and the procedural difficulties he faced.
It was already half past eleven when Wu Jing called again. He just finished a
phone interview regarding Whipped Horse Roaring Amid West Wind, which was going
to be aired in Beijing soon. Then, with a tone of resignation, he continued his
talk about his possible visit to Taiwan. It's already 30th Oct, and he had told
the production company to inform him a month in advance if they required his
presence for publicity event so that he could make the necessary arrangement and
to apply for leave from his current work.
And now, he had to apply for visa himself, and his present production team was
not informed before hand. His current schedule was very tight, and the shooting
locations were vastly scattered. He didn't want the production team to stop work
for three, four days, affecting the subsequent production, resulting in big
losses.
I queried why couldn't Fee Tang Production help him make the arrangement? He
replied that they wanted him to handle them himself. However, he couldn't afford
to apply for leave to return to Beijing to settle the paper work. As director
Cheung Sing Yim was sick and he couldn't possibly ask him to prepare the
necessary arrangement too.
My heart was almost sinking but I tried to encourage him, bringing out cases of
Mainland artistes who had successfully come over to Taiwan. However, amidst so
many obstacles, Wu Jing said while he really wish to go to Taiwan , it's not
quite possible. On the other hand, he would try his best. He planned to sought
his friend's help to make visa application and tried to discuss with the current
production team to give him a few days' leave.
It's not yet known whether Wu Jing could make it to Taiwan, and we could but
only hope for this dream to come true.
* As the release of Metamorphosis
of Heavenly Silkworm has been delayed, the publicity exercise was called off
until further notice.
How Affectionate the Sons and Daughters of an Empire Could be
While I was sulking over Wu Jing's difficulties in coming over here, Wu Jing
consoled me that there would be chance for him to come here to do publicity.
Even if Whipped Horse Roaring Amid the West Wind was not going to be broadcast
here, three of the productions he made this year were likely to be shown here.
With semi-suspicion, semi-belief, I enquired if How Affectionate the Sons and
Daughters of an Empire Could be would be aired in Taiwan. He said yes and I told
him that it was already showing in Hunan. Wu Jing was surprised, "Huh? How come
I was not aware about it? I'll have to check with them."
I told him that the viewers were reacting positively to his portrayal of Emperor
Qianlong, "They feel that this young Emperor is so talented, so mesmerising."
"In what ways?"
"You're well versed in the foreign language, capable of playing Western musical
instruments and dancing, and even know how to appreciate antiques..."
Suddenly, Wu Jing was in high spirits, "Did you know about a scene where I
pretended to be King of Hades?
Remembering Chu Chu mentioned it in her episode guide, I immediately responded,
"Yeah, you even wore big beard, looking very much like an old pugilist from
Peking Opera. It was so humorous."
"In that scene, I spoke directly to that foreigner in English. That was the
first time I used English lines. It was not bad." Wu Jing laughed.
"It wasn't easy, was it? Having to take into account the fluency of language, as
well as having to take care of the gestures and expressions."
"Yeah. Using English for the first time in a show. I was rather excited and
tense. And also have to think about the gestures, the steps. It felt fresh." Wu
Jing said excitedly.
"A pity it wasn't live recording. Otherwise, we would have been able to hear
your stirring voice."
"Yeah, you wouldn't be hearing my real voice," Sighed Wu Jing. |
The October Conversation
-
Wu Jing's
Forthcoming Visit to Taiwan
-
Current and Future Projects
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